You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them on time (no later than Friday, August, 25). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0.
You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points, if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammar and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Trifles. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
This play takes place at the farmhouse owned by the Wright family. This play takes place in the morning of an early 1900's day, and it occurred before women gained suffrage. There were seven main characters who were introduced in the stasis. These characters include Lewis Hale, George Henderson (The county attorney), Henry Peters (The Sheriff), Mrs. Peters, Mrs. Hale, John Wright (The murder victim), and Mrs. Minnie Wright. The dramatic situation that was created in the stasis was a murder investigation, where John Wright was supposedly murdered by his wife, Minnie Wright.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken is the women's discovery of the dead canary, while the men are looking in another room. The birdcage was visibly forced open, which helped the women piece together what happened. They believed that Mr. Wright strangled the canary and Mrs. Wright killed him in the same way.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor that allowed for this play to develop was the murder of Mr. Wright. The men were looking for evidence against Minnie Wright, while the woman were looking to help Mrs. Wright by bringing her items from her home while she's in jail.
4. State the dramatic question or questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
The main dramatic question to be answered is "Did Minnie Wright murder her husband?"
5. Use Ms. Hale to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Trifles the wants of Ms. Hale change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles for Ms. Hale.
Ms. Hale has two main wants/goals through this play. At first she just wants to collect items to make Mrs. Wright more comfortable while she is waiting in prison. This changes throughout the play as Mrs. Hale starts to have an internal conflict in which she feels worse and worse for not coming to the Wrights house or helping Minnie earlier. This leads to Mrs. Hale wanting to hide the dead canary from the men investigation the crime scene. This creates the second major conflict which is the women against the me\
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Trifles.
The most theatrical moment in this play would have to be the final scene where the women act to hide the bird from the men. This creates a question of justice for the oppressed of this time. It makes you question how much blame can be put on Mrs. Wright because of the constant abuse that she had to deal with.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Trifles. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
The imagery that is created of the Wrights house creates a kind of creepy scene. It is a cold small house that you cannot see from the road. Another image used was the dead canary. This showed the last straw for Mrs. Wright and showed the end of her grief because it lead to her killing her husband. The third piece of imagery I want to point out is the quilt. This showed the stressful and harsh life that Mrs. Wright was constantly having to deal with before she killed her husband.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Trifles.
Some themes can include emotional justice, role of woman in the early 1900's, role of men in the early 1900's, and gender differences.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with Trifles? Is family redefined in Trifles?
Family in trifles is more represented by the people you feel the need to protect instead of a biological relationship to someone. The 'families' in this play are the two groups made up of each gender. The females feel the need to protect and help each other, where the men try and get justice for Mr. Wright.
You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them on time (no later than Friday, August, 25). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0.
You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points, if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammar and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Trifles. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
This play takes place at the farmhouse owned by the Wright family. This play takes place in the morning of an early 1900's day, and it occurred before women gained suffrage. There were seven main characters who were introduced in the stasis. These characters include Lewis Hale, George Henderson (The county attorney), Henry Peters (The Sheriff), Mrs. Peters, Mrs. Hale, John Wright (The murder victim), and Mrs. Minnie Wright. The dramatic situation that was created in the stasis was a murder investigation, where John Wright was supposedly murdered by his wife, Minnie Wright.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken is the women's discovery of the dead canary, while the men are looking in another room. The birdcage was visibly forced open, which helped the women piece together what happened. They believed that Mr. Wright strangled the canary and Mrs. Wright killed him in the same way.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor that allowed for this play to develop was the murder of Mr. Wright. The men were looking for evidence against Minnie Wright, while the woman were looking to help Mrs. Wright by bringing her items from her home while she's in jail.
4. State the dramatic question or questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
The main dramatic question to be answered is "Did Minnie Wright murder her husband?"
5. Use Ms. Hale to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Trifles the wants of Ms. Hale change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles for Ms. Hale.
Ms. Hale has two main wants/goals through this play. At first she just wants to collect items to make Mrs. Wright more comfortable while she is waiting in prison. This changes throughout the play as Mrs. Hale starts to have an internal conflict in which she feels worse and worse for not coming to the Wrights house or helping Minnie earlier. This leads to Mrs. Hale wanting to hide the dead canary from the men investigation the crime scene. This creates the second major conflict which is the women against the me\
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Trifles.
The most theatrical moment in this play would have to be the final scene where the women act to hide the bird from the men. This creates a question of justice for the oppressed of this time. It makes you question how much blame can be put on Mrs. Wright because of the constant abuse that she had to deal with.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Trifles. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
The imagery that is created of the Wrights house creates a kind of creepy scene. It is a cold small house that you cannot see from the road. Another image used was the dead canary. This showed the last straw for Mrs. Wright and showed the end of her grief because it lead to her killing her husband. The third piece of imagery I want to point out is the quilt. This showed the stressful and harsh life that Mrs. Wright was constantly having to deal with before she killed her husband.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Trifles.
Some themes can include emotional justice, role of woman in the early 1900's, role of men in the early 1900's, and gender differences.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with Trifles? Is family redefined in Trifles?
Family in trifles is more represented by the people you feel the need to protect instead of a biological relationship to someone. The 'families' in this play are the two groups made up of each gender. The females feel the need to protect and help each other, where the men try and get justice for Mr. Wright.